ANKARA, Turkey – A journalists' rights group says a Turkish journalist has been killed in Iraq during clashes between Islamic militants and Kurdish Peshmerga forces and has demanded an investigation into the circumstances of her death.

Reporters without Borders said Monday that Leyla Yildizhan, who is Kurdish and uses the pseudonym Deniz Firat, was killed on Aug. 8 during fighting between the Iraqi Kurdish fighters and the Islamic State group.

It said the journalist, who worked for the Firat news agency and other Kurdish media, died from a mortar shell wound.

The group said "the work of journalists is crucial at wartime. Every effort must be made to guarantee their safety, along with the safety of all sectors of the civilian population."